So the end of May and beginning of June has been a WHILRWIND! I'll take you for a quick run through.
First, we had a great long weekend with my parents. They haven't been to visit in DC too many times since I moved here, so it was great to have them. They stayed in a lovely little B&B about a block and a half from our apartment. *Pro-tip: When visiting a big city, B&B's can be a great way to not only stay in a BEAUTIFUL home in a convenient location, but are also often a great deal cheaper than conventional hotels. Not by a ton, but this place was about half the cost of the Hilton that sits 2 blocks away from it. And I doubt the Hilton had a claw-footed bath tub or private veranda with french doors (I kind of wanted to move into this place...) If you're planning a visit to the DC area, we can't recommend the Taft Bridge Inn highly enough.
We had a great weekend including kayaking on the Potomac from Jack's Boathouse, checking out the new outdoor installation film at the Hirshorn museum and, of course, meeting the Grige's parents. The highlight of the weekend was our Couple's Shower, thrown by my amazing Aunts and hosted by my cousin Abbie.
I thought that the whole "opening presents in front of people" part of showers would be really awkward. I don't really lik events that are focused on me. The Grige, however, loves to be the center of attention, so we balanced this event really well. I had a great time seeing our families mingle for the first time.
Memorial weekend was the Grige's big chance to memorialize his bachelor-hood. He headed off to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley with 10 smelly dudes for 3 long, hot, humid nights.
It sounded like a pretty awful weekend from the perspective of any normal person, but I'm pretty sure it was the bachelor party of my little mountain nerd's dreams. They dropped him on a trail with 4 hours to finish 6 miles with a mind task or feat of strength at every mile marker. He came back with an ankle the size of a grapefruit and the color of a plum and a grin as wide as the grand canyon. I guess if he couldn't complete a task, he had to drink some 4 loco... and 4 loco plus running in the woods = broken grige. It didn't stop him though. not for a minute.
I, on the other hand, used my long weekend freedom to bike all over DC in a bathing suit (it was HOT), check out the community pool in Potomac Park (I hesitate to publish this, because it was so refreshing and un-crowded....), and give stand-up paddle-boarding a try with my friend Dawn. The Grige had also captured her manfriend Tom for the weekend, so we were flying solo.
I have to say, paddle boarding is fun, and easy and about five minutes after I got on the board, I got inspired to try this:
Not sure if it's safe, but I couldn't stop thinking about trying some yoga moves while we were out on the water. I was even more surprised to see that it's becoming a bit of a fad! I hope the trend moves east quickly and that I can take a class this summer. It seems like the ultimate balance and strength training.
We followed our strenuous workout with some sun and secret champagne on the dock. The view was also killer:
I suppose DC summers can be okay after all. You just have to beat the heat. This was definitely more fun than draping myself over an air conditioner for whole weekend.
We took June by storm by opening with a busy week at work and a the Northface Endurance Challenge 10k. The course was a little wimpy to be called an endurance challenge, but there was enough mud to keep us busy and the course was fun, fast and flat. I ran with my friend Marissa.
We finished in just over 1 hour, which blew my goal of finishing in under 1:30 min out of the water. I've never run more than 3 miles without a walking break before, but running with Marissa really encouraged me to keep moving and stay on pace. I've previously been against running with a buddy, but this race proved me all kinds of wrong. I suppose I will start finding some friends to train with. Just not the Grige. We all know how that ends.....
On the wedding front, we sent out our invitations! I'm working on turning the extra's into a little art surprise for the Grige, so I'll do a big reveal of that later on. For now, let me say that they are gorgeous and definitely my current favorite part of the wedding. I just love the way they came out, and they proved that it was definitely worth the extra $$ to get letterpressing done. It also means so much that the design is all the Grige's! I keep badgering him to open an Etsy shop. Someday....
So things are showing no sign of slowing down. I'll hopefully be back soon with some more introspection on wedding planning since we are (GASP!) 2 months away now!!!! I can definitely feel the "f*ck it" train rolling into the station. I hope I can finish my lone craft project before it arrives.
First, we had a great long weekend with my parents. They haven't been to visit in DC too many times since I moved here, so it was great to have them. They stayed in a lovely little B&B about a block and a half from our apartment. *Pro-tip: When visiting a big city, B&B's can be a great way to not only stay in a BEAUTIFUL home in a convenient location, but are also often a great deal cheaper than conventional hotels. Not by a ton, but this place was about half the cost of the Hilton that sits 2 blocks away from it. And I doubt the Hilton had a claw-footed bath tub or private veranda with french doors (I kind of wanted to move into this place...) If you're planning a visit to the DC area, we can't recommend the Taft Bridge Inn highly enough.
We had a great weekend including kayaking on the Potomac from Jack's Boathouse, checking out the new outdoor installation film at the Hirshorn museum and, of course, meeting the Grige's parents. The highlight of the weekend was our Couple's Shower, thrown by my amazing Aunts and hosted by my cousin Abbie.
 |
| Jeanine, the Grige, me and Jennifer Jeanine and Jennifer are my beloved cousins and wedding "day-of coordinators" Jeanine also took our amazing engagement photos, check her out at www.jfinchphoto.wordpress.com |
I thought that the whole "opening presents in front of people" part of showers would be really awkward. I don't really lik events that are focused on me. The Grige, however, loves to be the center of attention, so we balanced this event really well. I had a great time seeing our families mingle for the first time.
Memorial weekend was the Grige's big chance to memorialize his bachelor-hood. He headed off to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley with 10 smelly dudes for 3 long, hot, humid nights.
 |
| A Very Manly Grige |
I, on the other hand, used my long weekend freedom to bike all over DC in a bathing suit (it was HOT), check out the community pool in Potomac Park (I hesitate to publish this, because it was so refreshing and un-crowded....), and give stand-up paddle-boarding a try with my friend Dawn. The Grige had also captured her manfriend Tom for the weekend, so we were flying solo.
I have to say, paddle boarding is fun, and easy and about five minutes after I got on the board, I got inspired to try this:
 |
| Photo: Yogaqua http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/health/Paddleboard-Yoga-128036608.html |
Not sure if it's safe, but I couldn't stop thinking about trying some yoga moves while we were out on the water. I was even more surprised to see that it's becoming a bit of a fad! I hope the trend moves east quickly and that I can take a class this summer. It seems like the ultimate balance and strength training.
 |
| Dawn, our California beach babe |
We followed our strenuous workout with some sun and secret champagne on the dock. The view was also killer:
 |
| The View from Jack's Boathouse |
I suppose DC summers can be okay after all. You just have to beat the heat. This was definitely more fun than draping myself over an air conditioner for whole weekend.
We took June by storm by opening with a busy week at work and a the Northface Endurance Challenge 10k. The course was a little wimpy to be called an endurance challenge, but there was enough mud to keep us busy and the course was fun, fast and flat. I ran with my friend Marissa.
 |
| Post Race. Wooooooot! |
 |
| Strong Finish, Muddy shoes. |
On the wedding front, we sent out our invitations! I'm working on turning the extra's into a little art surprise for the Grige, so I'll do a big reveal of that later on. For now, let me say that they are gorgeous and definitely my current favorite part of the wedding. I just love the way they came out, and they proved that it was definitely worth the extra $$ to get letterpressing done. It also means so much that the design is all the Grige's! I keep badgering him to open an Etsy shop. Someday....
So things are showing no sign of slowing down. I'll hopefully be back soon with some more introspection on wedding planning since we are (GASP!) 2 months away now!!!! I can definitely feel the "f*ck it" train rolling into the station. I hope I can finish my lone craft project before it arrives.
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